Metro councilwoman accused of misusing power

Complaint: Johnson called police to halt petition drive

4:29 AM,
May 25, 2013

Metro Councilwoman Karen Johnson

Written by

Michael Cass
| The Tennessean

A Nashville man has filed an ethics complaint against Metro Councilwoman Karen Johnson alleging that she abused her power by getting Metro police to try to disrupt a petition drive that opposed a controversial project she supports.

But the Metro Law Department recommended this week that the council's ethics board dismiss the complaint, concluding that Johnson could only have violated the government's standards of conduct "upon a strained reading of those standards." And Johnson says she didn't do anything wrong.